News

Street Smarts Poster Contest Winners Announced

Post Date:December 14, 2017 5:12 p.m.

Aspiring artists showed off their Street Smarts in the City of Davis Street Smarts Poster Contest – Road Rules. Elementary school students were asked to create original artwork illustrating the importance of proper helmet use, using lights at night, safe bicycle riding, crossing the street safely, and safe driving—including awareness about distracted driving and the dangers of talking or texting while on the road.

Continuing with the success of previous art shows, ALL entries in the contest are on display in an exhibit at the Davis Arts Center through December 16th. In addition to artwork, educational materials addressing the most common traffic safety issues for children and families help support the mission of the City’s Street Smarts program—a bicycle, pedestrian, and driver safety education campaign run through the Public Works Department.

During an Art Opening held last Friday, December 8th at the Davis Arts Center, the finalists and First, Second and Third Prize winners and Honorable Mentions were announced.

Mayor Robb Davis spoke to the children and their families, and celebrated the important work of these young individuals. Robb Davis said of the art work, “I could tell that the artists really understood the safety topic and their art highlighted many of the issues we have to tackle to make our streets safer.” Mayor Davis awardedprizes to 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in three categories (K-3rd and 4th-6th grades) as well as honorable mentions. Each artist who attended the award ceremony also received a small prize.

There was a generous outpouring of donations from local small businesses who helped to support the program, including the Davis Food Coop, the Davis Arts Center, Inspire Martial Arts, Yoloberry, Rocknasium, The Bicycle Hall of Fame, Fleet Feet, UC Davis Memorial Union Games Room and The Paint Chip, who once again framed the winning artwork. You can keep your eyes out for the exciting winners of this year’s program, whose work will be hosted by a downtown business during the coming year and used in marketing materials.

“It’s great to see Davis kids getting involved in public health and safety. We are very excited to have a new batch of wonderful artwork to use in our upcoming education materials,” said Rachel Hartsough, Street Smarts Program Manager.

All the posters will be available to view at the Davis Arts Center, 1919 F Street, through December 16th, when the show will come down. The winning artwork will also be posted on the Street Smarts website later in December, and incorporated into Street Smarts marketing materials during the upcoming year.